1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to electrical terminal connectors and more specifically to an electrical terminal connector which is readily tightened and quickly released by manual rotation of a cap nut.
2. Prior Art
In the past, twist-tightened electrical terminal connectors for connection to protruding battery terminal posts and the like, have employed a plurality of relatively fine threads, requiring several turns of a nut in order to achieve intimate electrical compression contact of the connector with the protruding terminal post. Because of the large surface contact area of said threads, these connectors were particularly vulnerable to galling and to the corrosive effects of battery acid and other environmental reagents, making disengagement difficult.
Prior art twist-tightened connectors employed one or more compressible or expansible slots, the gap of which was reduced upon the compressive application of a cap nut, and increased when compression was released by unscrewing the nut. Said slot or slots, essentially orthogonal to and cutting across said threads, tended to expand and bite into the nut threads upon attempted disengagement, thereby making more difficult or impossible manual removal of the connectors. Multiple thread coupling between cap nut and connector led to galling, which further hindered ready decoupling of nut and connector. Corrosive effects further inhibited ready removal of the cap nut.
Because of the use of a plurality of threads, said nuts were usually constructed of metal, and were thus conductive between the terminal post and the grasping hand or other object. Lubricants or anti-corrosive chemicals could be dispersed or washed off inadvertently from surfaces of such metal prior art nuts.
A need existed for a twist-tightened electrical terminal connector which required less thread coupling for tightening; which provided a coarse, corrosion-resistant thread engagement having relatively small contact area between connector and cap nut; in which the anti-disengagement binding of expansible slots against threads was minimized or eliminated, in which insulated material could be employed in the cap nut member grasped by hand or contacted by other objects; in which one connector member could be impregnated with anticorrosive chemical; and in which one connector member could be impregnated with a lubricant for reducing anti-disengagement friction.
An object of this invention is to provide an improved twist-tightened electrical terminal connector.
A further object of this invention is to permit manual tightening of an electrical terminal connector in less than one full rotation of a cap nut.
Another object of this invention is to reduce the contact area between threads in a twist-tightened electrical terminal connector and threads in a cap nut, so as to reduce difficulty of removing when corroded, and to reduce any tendency of galling.
It is also an object of this invention to provide finger-operated anti-binding means for resisting the tendency of a compressible slot to bind said threads upon attempted disengagement.
Yet another object of this invention is to insulate the electrical connector from a grasping hand or other object.
Still another object of this invention is to impregnate a porous member of the electrical connector with a lubricant, to reduce mechanical force in disengagement.
It is a further object of this invention to impregnate a porous member of the electrical connector with an anti-corrosive chemical.